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373289

Performance Test of Spacex’s Starlink: An Empirical Review

Article

Last updated: 26 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Electrical power and machines engineering.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been significant interest in the deployment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations as a potential solution to provide broadband internet access to remote regions [1]. One such constellation, Starlink, run by SpaceX, promises fast internet connectivity via its constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of Starlink's performance in Nigeria was given, assessing five performance metrics: latency, packet loss, throughput, routing strategy, and environmental influences. The tests were conducted for the various metrics using command-line tools like Ping (Packet Internet or Inter-Network Groper), tracert (traceroute), iperf3 (Internet Performance Working Group), and Python scripts which were used to both automating the test procedures and analysing the collected data. Our findings reveal that Starlink's latency was higher than advertised but still low compared to most Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria, making it suitable for the majority of internet users. On average, the study found that packet loss remained relatively low, jitter was within acceptable limits, and throughput exhibited variations but generally maintained satisfactory levels. Also, heavy rainfall was found to affect Starlink's performance, highlighting the impact of environmental factors.

DOI

10.21608/jesaun.2024.300081.1347

Keywords

Starlink, Internet Connectivity, Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Satellite Constellations, Network Performance

Authors

First Name

OSEMWEGIE

Last Name

OMOROGIUWA

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept., University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.

Email

sam@uniben.edu

City

Benin

Orcid

-

First Name

Nosa

Last Name

Bello

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept., University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.

Email

nosabello@uniben.edu

City

Benin

Orcid

0009-0003-7831-3066

First Name

victor

Last Name

akhihiero

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept., University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.

Email

victor.akhihiero@eng.uniben.edu

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

somto

Last Name

akpala

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept., University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.

Email

somto.akpala@eng.uniben.edu

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

52

Article Issue

5

Related Issue

49361

Issue Date

2024-09-01

Receive Date

2024-06-28

Publish Date

2024-09-01

Page Start

73

Page End

87

Print ISSN

1687-0530

Online ISSN

2356-8550

Link

https://jesaun.journals.ekb.eg/article_373289.html

Detail API

https://jesaun.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=373289

Order

2

Type

Review Paper

Type Code

1,441

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

JES. Journal of Engineering Sciences

Publication Link

https://jesaun.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Performance Test of Spacex’s Starlink: An Empirical Review

Details

Type

Article

Created At

26 Dec 2024